James powers Heat past Pacers 95-86, with Bosh lost to injury

MIAMI — Any doubts about whether this would be a competitive series quickly were extinguished.

What we had Sunday at AmericanAirlines Arena was a war of attrition.

The Miami Heat emerged with the 95-86 victory over the Indiana Pacers in the opening game of this best-of-seven Eastern Conference semifinal series, yet might have emerged as the biggest losers.

For the Pacers, the attrition issues will be reset by the time the teams take the court for Tuesday's Game 2 at AmericanAirlines Arena, their Sunday losses merely the result of rotation-numbing foul trouble.

"Our guys were fouling too much," coach Frank Vogel said.

For the Heat, the pain goes deeper, with the question being how deep into Chris Bosh's abdomen. The All-Star power forward was lost for the second half after sustaining a lower-abdominal strain on the follow-through of a second-quarter dunk that resulted in a 3-point play.

Coach Erik Spoelstra did not sound as if Bosh was coming back any time soon.

"We have some time now. We don't know what Chris' status is," Spoelstra said. "We won't know until we get an MRI, move on from there."

The Heat opened the second half with Ronny Turiaf starting in place of Bosh, relying extensively over the latter stages on former starting center Joel Anthony, whose energy sparked the Heat in the second half.

Bosh's injury effectively reduced the Heat to a Big Two, his afternoon was finished after going for 13 points and five rebounds in 15:48 in the first half.

That had the Heat turning extensively to LeBron James and Wade, who Vogel acknowledged were, "just spectacular the whole night."

After receiving his MVP trophy from NBA Commissioner David Stern during a pregame ceremony at center court, James led the Heat with 32 points and a season-high 15 rebounds, supported by 29 points from Wade.

"We had to turn the switch," Wade said.

James played the entire second half, unable to bargain for time off from Spoelstra.

"I thought about taking him out for a minute," Spoelstra mused. "I just said, 'No, we'll figure it out.' I just looked him straight in the eye and told him, 'You flat out cannot get tired. Period."

He didn't, scoring 10 points in the third quarter and 16 in the fourth, after a scoreless second, playing 43:15.

"We took it upon ourselves, me and D-Wade, we had to put the team on our back," James said. "I made a conscious effort in the second half to rebound the ball even more."

But it was about more that his 12 baskets, eight free throws and 15 rebounds. He also helped shut down Pacers forward Danny Granger, who finished with seven points on 1-for-10 shooting.

"I don't know if he's going to have a big series if you're going to have to guard the MVP for 38 minutes," Vogel said of Granger. "Obviously LeBron is the MVP because he's [also] the best defensive player in the league.''

The Pacers, known for their balanced approach, had to play through the foul trouble of center Roy Hibbert and guards George Hill and Paul George, led by 17 points apiece from Hibbert and forward David West.

"We've been playing at that aggressive level all year," West said of the foul calls, which left the Heat with a 29-20 scoring edge at the line. "When you got guys like Wade and LeBron, they're going to get the benefit of the doubt, especially when they're attacking.

"We're not going to change. We can play a lot better than what we did and we can't worry about the whistles."

Up 82-74 early in the fourth quarter, the Heat saw that lead cut to 84-82 midway through the period. A 3-pointer by Hill later pulled the Pacers within 86-85.

But with James and Wade on the attack, scoring 20 consecutive Heat points between them late, the Heat were able to safely pull away.

"We knew, as a team, we knew we had to come together," Wade said. "For myself, I said, 'I got to be a lot more aggressive.' And LeBron really turned it up, as well."

Ultimately, Spoelstra said the Heat were, "able to grind away a tough win here at home."

Now the grind changes, with Bosh likely not to be seen for a while.

"We think one of the greatest strengths of our roster is we have a versatility," Spoelstra said.

This, however, was largely a two-man game for the Heat, with starting power forward Udonis Haslem shooting 0 for 4 and starting point guard Mario Chalmers missing all three of his shots. Anthony, with nine points and seven rebounds off the bench, essentially was the extent of the Heat bench.